"Secure" erase utilities

[TheProject]

I know that this question has been asked before, and I actually did a search (being Platinum and all), for secure erase utilities. PGPfreeware came up, but I didn't see any others mentioned.

I'm aware that short of physically destroying the drive, the data could always be potentially recovered. Having said that, does anyone use any of the "secure" erase utilities out there?

I can google it and get tons of results I'm sure, but I'd like to know what people have tried.

 

[Code]

Bfacs wipes drives clean too. Bfacs is free.

Problem is, magnetic resonance never goes away, no amount of wiping cleans your drive from government retrieval. Sure the resonance gets layered and harder to pull off, but it's still there.

 

[Nikola Teslasterone]

Bfacs wipes drives clean too. Bfacs is free.

Problem is, magnetic resonance never goes away, no amount of wiping cleans your drive from government retrieval. Sure the resonance gets layered and harder to pull off, but it's still there.

disposable external hard drive

 

[TheProject]

Bfacs wipes drives clean too. Bfacs is free.

Problem is, magnetic resonance never goes away, no amount of wiping cleans your drive from government retrieval. Sure the resonance gets layered and harder to pull off, but it's still there.

Yeah...like I said, the data could always potentially be retrieved, but it seems like this is a point between doing nothing, and beating on the drive with a ball peen hammer, then setting it on fire.

You think Bfacs is better than PGPfreeware, or is it pretty much a toss up?

 

[CipherLock]

What about Entrust TrueDelete?

What are you actually trying to accomplish?

Will the hard drive be reused by someone else or discarded, or do you just want to delete that animal porn you've got and ensure that the lady doesn't ever find out?

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

How about those Mavericks?

I believe they'll take it all the way!

 

[WODIN]

Window washer does pretty much the same thing as bfacs. You can find it on kazaa.

Take the drive out and turn a 10 pound electro magnet on it. That'll whipe the fucker!

 

[gettinlarger]

Take the drive out and turn a 10 pound electro magnet on it. That'll whipe the fucker!

Untrue. You must completely annihilate your drive. Fire is your best bet.

Project, what's so incriminating on your comp?

 

[TheProject]

The intent is to reuse the drive, but also to provide a measure of ongoing security. I like that I can schedule free space wipes with PGPfreeware...any of the others do this?

And havoc, you're being weird. Again.

 

[CipherLock]

to provide a measure of ongoing security? A 'measure' seems pretty variable.

If you are left in charge of this kind of action I suggest you license a product that guarantees a level of security that suits your needs.

I don’t know of any secure organizations that reuse hard drives. I have heard that some organizations even physically destroy the monitors in the effort.

And let havoc be weird I think he is still sick. Hey Chester how is the respiratory thing?

 

[TheProject]

to provide a measure of ongoing security? A 'measure' seems pretty variable.

If you are left in charge of this kind of action I suggest you license a product that guarantees a level of security that suits your needs.

I don’t know of any secure organizations that reuse hard drives. I have heard that some organizations even physically destroy the monitors in the effort.

And let havoc be weird I think he is still sick. Hey Chester how is the respiratory thing?

Agreed "measure" is variable, but in this instance I'm going for >0.

This isn't a work thing, it's a personal thing.

Didn't know about Chester and his problems with lung butter. I guess that entitles him to be weird.

 

[Chester_Copperpot]

Feeling solid, thanks for asking but.......

How about those Mavericks?

I believe they'll take it all the way!

 

[gettinlarger]

I was wondering how he was going to add that quote to his response.

 

[CipherLock]

If it's not true sensitive material you could go through the fragment/defragment route.

Copy large files and delete them over the entire harddrive repeatedly defragmenting between filling and emptying the drive.
Reformat etc...

Cheap enough way. But by no means a Top Secret type of approach.


Chester, good to hear.

 

[TheProject]

If it's not true sensitive material you could go through the fragment/defragment route.

Copy large files and delete them over the entire harddrive repeatedly defragmenting between filling and emptying the drive.
Reformat etc...

Cheap enough way. But by no means a Top Secret type of approach.


Chester, good to hear.

Yeah, I thought about the frag/degrag route, but it seems like a scheduled "wipe" (which I'm sure is a repeated overwrite/erase) would be more efficient.

Sounds like the freeware tools out there are the way to go.

 

[TheProject]

Isnt the issue that 'deleted' data remains on the drive, but is flagged as deleted?

All u gotta do is fill your drive up with other data... a huge word document of gibberish copied a few times would work.

Jeez, did you even read the thread?

Yeah, normally, deleted data is just flagged as space to reuse, which is why you have to overwrite it multiple times, or get a utility to do that for you.

 

[Bullit]

Isnt the issue that 'deleted' data remains on the drive, but is flagged as deleted?

All u gotta do is fill your drive up with other data... a huge word document of gibberish copied a few times would work.

 

[CipherLock]

Sounds like the freeware tools out there are the way to go.

most probably.

I know if you download Norton Utility Suite 2000 or highter from Kazaa (or other p2p) it comes with a secure delete program.

It runs very slowly so that at least makes me think its decent.

godd luck

 

[TC2]

yeah, I got norton utilites 2003(kazaa) and it comes with a program called wipe or something.

Has department of defence erasing or so it claims.

 

[Bullit]

Jeez, did you even read the thread?

Actually, no.


Why multiple times?

 

[TheProject]

Actually, no.


Why multiple times?

Well, in theory, the more times you overwrite the information, the more difficult it would be to recover.

 

[Bullit]

Well, in theory, the more times you overwrite the information, the more difficult it would be to recover.

Yeah, thanks guy, I figured that out.
I woulda thought that 1 overwrite would suffice, but after reading Codes post I guess its not.

 

[TheProject]

Yeah, thanks guy, I figured that out.
I woulda thought that 1 overwrite would suffice, but after reading Codes post I guess its not.

Oh, well, I just figured I'd post the explanation again in case you decided to read it.

 

[TheProject]

WTF you got on your personal drive anyway ... plans for a nucular bomb?

Rubber chicken porn.

 

[Bullit]

WTF you got on your personal drive anyway ... plans for a nucular bomb?